Dr. Greg Godon has been a veterinarian for more than four decades.
Like most vets, he loves animals and has wanted to take care of them
since he was a kid.

This line of work is more of a calling, not just a career. But
veterinarians, now more than ever, need business practices to handle
declining visits and revenue, cash-strapped patients and higher
competition.

At
Antietam Valley Animal Hospital, Dr. Greg Godon does a cold laser
treatment on a dog prior to surgery. The treatment helps the dog to
heal.

ly every pet chart has a note about financial concerns. Times have
been tough in the past, but he can’t recall another period in his
40-year career when revenue has decreased. At the same time, medical
technology has advanced, and Godon has added to his toolbox things like
digital radiology, ultrasound and cold laser therapy.

“The technology has grown by leaps and bounds, and a lot of people just can’t afford it,” he said. “Money is tight.”

However, when people put off routine visits, their pets have worse —
and more expensive — problems when they eventually go to the
veterinarian.

The recession has compounded a decadeslong trend of fewer pet visits
to the veterinarian. At a time when the number of cats and dogs
increased in the U.S., more than half of veterinarians saw fewer patient
visits after the recession and nearly as many saw revenue decrease.
Since then, visits and revenue are stabilizing, but there’s still room
for improvement.

One of the keys is using business practices, including reviewing
financial data, evaluating staff, and retaining and attracting new
clients, according to a national study done by Bayer HealthCare. Yet 62
percent of practice owners nationwide don’t use financial concepts to
manage their businesses. Those that do earn two-thirds more than those
who don’t. Locally, veterinarians are expanding into specialty areas
and trying new ways to convince customers to bring Fluffy and Fido in
for regular visits.

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One of the top issues veterinarians face is customers with tighter budgets, who are less willing to spend money on their pets.

Visits to Willow Creek Veterinary Center’s
equine practice dropped off sharply at the height of the recession and
since have stabilized, but have not returned to pre-crash levels, said
Dr. Travis Boston, associate veterinarian at the Ontelaunee Township
practice. Horse ownership is a luxury and, Boston said, the smaller,
backyard breeders often will buy a horse instead of going through the
breeding process, which entails a veterinarian’s services.

At the same time visits are dropping, veterinarians are facing more
competition. Vet practices have increased, and vet care is offered at
more places, like pet store clinics, mobile clinics and shelters. For
example, the Humane Society of Berks County expanded its veterinary
clinic recently to offer wellness visits, vaccines and other services.
It also operates a mobile vet clinic.

“A nonprofit can perform surgeries and charge for them, but they
don’t have to pay the tax,” Ostrich said. “That’s not fair. That’s
competition from the nonprofits that I think is unfair to
veterinarians.”

Clients also can buy pet medicine online and flea and tick medicine in pet stores.

“By putting that stuff over the counter, they took a huge market away from veterinary medicine,” Ostrich said.

In addition, a recent American Veterinary Medical Association survey
shows there are far more veterinarians than needed. The oversaturated
market leads to vets starting their own practices, increasing
competition.

And as veterinary school tuition has soared, more younger vets
saddled with debt aren’t able to buy a practice, Boston said. That’s bad
news for veterinarians looking to retire and sell their practices.

To improve earnings, veterinarians can offer new services, such as
creating monthly wellness plans for customers, extending business hours
and setting competitive prices, according to a 2011 Bayer Veterinary
Care Usage Study. Vets also can stress the importance of annual visits
to grow client traffic and improve patient care.

The latest study, released in January, explored the top missed
opportunity: Fewer than half of cats have visited a veterinarian in the
past year. While there are more cats than dogs, they receive less
veterinary care. The biggest obstacle is that most cat owners say their
cats hate to go to the vet.

While vet practices say they can handle more cat visits without significant changes, they aren’t taking steps to do so.

The study suggested practices can change this by educating owners on carrier use and making waiting rooms more cat-friendly.

To grow business, Boston has expanded his equine dentistry work at
Willow Creek Veterinary Center. He files teeth, administers anesthesia
for extractions and has intraoral radiographic equipment to make
horse-sized bite-wing X-rays.

“You kind of have to find a niche,” he said. “You have to
differentiate yourself both within the practice you work in and the
industry you’re in.”

At Antietam Valley, Godon hired a practice manager consultant in the
past to help the hospital change prices and streamline hours. More
recently, the practice has improved its reminder system for visits.
Instead of only sending postcards and calling patients, they’re starting
to email as well.

And at Eagles Peak, Ostrich recently hired a second veterinarian, Dr.
Heather Westfall, and in the next month will add a grooming area and
orthopedic rehab equipment, such as a new hydrotherapy treadmill. The
equipment can be used to help dogs recover from surgery, but Ostrich
also plans to use it for fitness and to bring in more clients.

“The goal is to give pet owners an opportunity to help older dogs,
injured dogs, arthritic dogs and keep them in good condition,” he said.
“Hopefully we can do that in an inexpensive way that will be good for
patient and owner.”